Vote TUSC in Hinksey Park on 29 September
Callum Joyce, TUSC candidate in Hinksey Park
Labour has been in control of Oxford council for over ten years, and in that time has slashed funding for public services and ensured that the most vulnerable are left out in the cold.
Voters in Hinksey Park head to the ballot box on 29 September for a byelection. I am standing as a Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) candidate to show Labour that they cannot take our vote for granted anymore, and to show local residents that there is an alternative to the disinterested, careerist politicians on offer.
We are demanding that the council use its existing reserve funds and borrowing powers to immediately set an emergency budget to help protect people this winter. This means providing grants to those who cannot afford to pay their energy bills and freezing rents for all tenants, including students.
The council must also increase the Oxford Living Wage to at least £15 an hour, as part of a mass campaign to fight for this improved minimum wage nationally, and to win back the funding from central government that has been lost over the last decade of austerity.
These are concrete policies that the council could implement to improve people’s lives today. But the fightback shouldn’t stop at the level of only one council. A new mass workers’ party could fight for socialist policies in parliament and all councils across the country.
And as a young worker, and trade unionist in the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU), I am in full support of the recent strike action. I have spent time on the picket lines, showing solidarity to striking workers in their fight for a decent pay rise.
Many councils will be holding elections next year. If you are tired of the capitalist parties on offer and want to help build a new voice for the working class, then consider standing as a TUSC candidate and fight to end this cycle of poverty and hunger.
